Nadal shows he is in no mood for games

While all the talk of the French Open has so far been focused on Andy Murray and his lack of a coach, or the fact that the Williams sisters and perhaps even Kim Clijsters are set to miss out on playing at the French Open due to injury, Rafa Nadal has rather strangely been able to duck under the radar and instead allow the other names to be the ones that have been cropping up in media circles.

However, despite the presence of Roger Federer, the improvements that Novak Djokovic has made to his game, and the fact that Andy Murray has started to play better on clay so far this season, the only real likely champion at the French Open is surely Rafa Nadal and the French Open men's betting reflects this.

With Nadal proving at Monte Carlo that he has little interest in messing about in the early rounds of the tournament, he has already started to throw down a measuring stick that will show precisely how good he is going to be on a surface that he has not only made his own, but has also made seem that it was built only for him to play on, such is his immense skill on clay. Anyone looking for French Open tips needn't look much further.

Despite the fact that there is likely to be a significant challenge to Nadal at the upcoming French Open, it is perhaps his ability to perform so well in the early rounds of tournaments that makes him such a formidable opponent to meet in the later rounds, when he is still relatively fresh compared to other players who have been forced to play a few five setters in the build up to the later rounds due to complacency.

For this reason, don't bet against Rafa to win yet another French Open title.